The Uplifting Massacre

Nanjing is much like the nearby cities hugging the mouth of the Yangzi river - clean, smart, organized, etc. But it does have a few unique identifiers for better or for worse. Like many other Chinese cities (that I had not visited at this point), it is surrounded by a large wall that is 33km long, ~40 ft high and 25 ft wide at that top - the best part: ~70% is still intact and you can walk bits of it. So of course, I did that. The city also contains a large lake with pathways and bridges and causeways cutting across it that all make for nice respite from the city clamor.

On one of the islands connected to the city by a causeway there is an aviary claiming to have China's largest collection of birds in their "natural habitat." The posted sign used several other bold statements like this claiming that this aviary had the most number of species, the most number of birds, the best facilities, etc. Which I have to mention at this point seems to be a running theme with nearly all the attractions I visit in China from museums to temples to archealogical sites - they all claim to be the best, but offer little information to back such claims. And while in some cases I agree (e.g.,"yes, this is the most number of steps I have ever seen leading up to a temple"), most times I just am left with the assumption that there must not be any system of accountability in place. I, however, do not think most of these boastful statements are intentful efforts to mislead, I think most Chinese are just very proud. But I'll save that for another blog entry. Back to the aviary: Well, if I haven't given away the punchline already, it was a little bit of a let down - or alternatively, every other aviary in the world just really does suck. In addition, it was also a little bit sad. A giant circus tent made of netting covers a hard-packed ground broken only by a few trees and an odd collection of birds who I just do not imagine cohabitating: mallards, peacocks, ostrich-like creature, spoonbills, etc (don't hold me to these names, I am not a bird guy). It was cool to walk among these birds, but like I said: odd, sad and definitely not the best. Also near the lake is Zijin mountain overlooking the city. After getting up there to check out the views I did my normal strolling about the city. Which is, by the way, were I found those awesome dumplings I talked about a few posts ago. Oh, and the night scene is pretty near - very busy and tons of lights in trees, along the canals, on temples, etc.

While Nanjing was a nice place to visit, for me, there was really only one thing that truly set it apart from these other Yangzi river cities - The Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre. I know, I know, it sounds morbid, but give me a second. It is basically a memorial with two functions: to commerate the 300,000 chinese victims ruthlessly murdered by the Japanese in a 6 week blitz in 1937 and to offer a peaceful way forward. It is quite an extensive exhibit broken up in to several main sections. You start off with a very thorough, thorough, thorough recount of the massacre and the events leading up to it in a museum/archive. The museum then commerates those who reported the incident and testified in War Crimes courts and catalogs the names of all those recorded to have died. From here you exit out into several sections of the memorial that would probably bore the crap out of you for me to describe in detail. So basically, in a nutshell, you follow a path of rememberance to reconciliation. What really struck a chord with me was the unique and modern artisitic works within the memorial. So far, all the artistic works I have seen in China have been limited to pottery, bronze work, coinage, funerary works, scrolls, calligraphy, Buddhist and Taoist statues and structures. They are all great in their own right, but they are all atleast 1000 - 9000 years old. Nearly everything hence forth seems to be a reproduction of 'the glory days'. I have sought out modern and contemperary art galleries and around each corner find myself sorely dissappointed. In contrast, the Nanjing memorial is incredibly invigorating. Initially, they use monotone colors, horizontal desolate space and large stone block elements to create weight and solitude. As you proceed through the memorial, they transition these elements to more vertical, light colored elements that lift you from the sense of despair they initially created. Kudos to the artists: it is an effective memorial that uses size and scope to assure you that it is possible to move forward after such a horrific event. I am sure all this comes across as a bit pretentious, but it truly is a unique piece of modern art that I find to be unparalled in China admidst the slew of glory day relics. If you are ever in the Shanghai greater area, take the 2 hour train ride out to Nanjing to see this - but go see all those relics first.